What is Good Customer Service Really About?

The ability to know a customer and anticipate her needs; and, to finally, creatively, and effectively recover from a problem or challenge, are the very cornerstones of good customer service. For an interior designer, where the interaction is so very personal, the importance of such service cannot be overstated.In addition to understanding the customer, simple good manners, kindness, and remembering to constantly communicate with and thank customers for their business are the basics of exceptional customer experiences; the type that leads to positive testimonials and referrals, as well as increased income.Customer-centric Thinking Will Enhance Your BrandOf course, knowing these things and putting them into practice can be very different exercises. After all, those of us in service industries are as human as our clients; which means we too can suffer from a lack of patience with problematic clients, or we can just have a bad day. Yet, for a designer, not only will good service have a positive effect on sales, exceptional service will also define your brand!Accomplishing such a lofty goal requires placing the goals and needs of the customer first – without reservation or hesitation – and committing all of your assets, talents, and mental energy to that. In other words, you can’t just say it, you have to mean it.Doing this is not always easy. Human nature is fundamentally self-centered but, if you understand that doing what is best for the client is also what is best for you and the success of your design business, you're more than halfway there already.There is an axiomatic business philosophy that can help you achieve this customer-centric goal: Tell people what you’re going to do for them; do what you told them that you were going to do for them; and, finally, tell them that you did what you told them you were going to do for them.This type of customer-centric thinking will not only enhance your reputation with your clients, it will also reinforce such thinking for you and your team, keeping good customer service at the forefront of your business model.Looking for more new design trends, marketing tips, and ideas? Get in touch with TD Fall today.